GEORGETOWN, Guyana - Guyana's government says that it will be moving towards selling its own crude oil and that it would actively support the local private sector in building the technical and human resource capacity needed to effectively participate in that business.
President Irfaan Ali addressing the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) breakfast forum on “Energy Insights” on Thursday (CMC Photo)“I will be working with the local, private sector and international partners to ensure that we develop our capability and capacity in crude oil trading. We must be able to trade our crude oil from Guyana with the infrastructure, with the human President Irfaan Ali told the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) breakfast forum on “Energy Insights”.
“The real wealth of Guyana will not only flow from beneath the sea, but from creativity, from the creativity of our people on land. And this is why the business community must ask itself: ‘will we be mere suppliers to an oil industry? Or will we be creators of industries of our own?’,” he told members of the business community gathered at the event.
“We have to get those who have already done it for other countries to work with us in transferring the knowledge…maybe to enter a partnership for the next three, four, five years until we get the experience to do it on our own. These are the bold decisions that we must embrace. These are the bold ideas that will take us from where we are to where we want to be,” Ali told the private sector grouping.
Ali said crude oil trading would create “enormous opportunities” for Guyana, and so in order to get into the business in the shortest possible time, an experienced crude oil trader would be contracted to do so and share its expertise.
Through a competitive bidding system, Guyana hires a crude marketing firm for its 50 per cent share of the profit oil from the Stabroek Block. British firms BB Energy Trading Limited and JE Energy have been contracted by the Guyana Government to market crude oil from the Liza Unity, Prosperity, and Destiny FPSOs.
Both companies had previously marketed Guyana’s oil in 2023-2024 and President Ali said Ali, these services can be provided by the local private sector.
ExxonMobil and its partners are producing approximately 650,000 barrels of oil per day from the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana. With the recent successful startup of a fourth FPSO, the ONE GUYANA, the company anticipates growing production to more than 900,000 barrels of oil per day by the end of the year.
President Ali’s announcement followed a statement by ExxonMobil Guyana’s Production Manager, Huzefa Ali, who told the breakfast that the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, One Guyana, which is pumping oil from Yellowtail, would reach name-plate capacity of 250,000 barrels per day in another month. That vessel began production in August.
The ExxonMobil official said that efforts were underway to bring the eight project, Longtail, on board and bearing a significant natural gas deposit, ExxonMobil said Longtail could potentially supply that hydrocarbon for a second power plant, an alumina plant, a fertiliser plant and a data center in Berbice.
“I will highlight project number eight, which we expect to be Longtail is also well progressed in terms of regulatory reviews and discussions for further discussion,” Ali said, adding that ExxonMobil was advancing plans to determine the actual amount of gas that is deposited in Longtail.
“We are well on our way to appraise those resources and then also take that to the next step, which is consider what is the most valuable development concept that brings the highest value for the people of Guyana, for the Government of Guyana, and for the other stakeholders,” he said.
Meanwhile, President Ali has underscored the importance of establishing a modern stock exchange as part of broader efforts to modernise the country’s financial sector.
“The creation of a modern stock exchange and options for capital mobilisation. Many people are speaking about diaspora bonds and all of this. All of these options will be examined,” he said, adding that the government is also exploring the establishment of a junior stock exchange, which is a type of stock market specifically designed for smaller or emerging companies to raise capital, often under less stringent regulatory requirements than those of a main or senior stock exchange.
Ali said that the private sector must play a crucial role in ensuring that wealth, opportunity and commerce flow into the economy and that the government will create a favourable environment by adopting effective policy frameworks, infrastructure, and financial sector modernisation.
“Someone asked me recently if Guyanese businesses are ready for the oil economy. I told them, well, we are ready in spirit… But readiness is more than dreams. It is about skills, partnerships, and wealth creation. Otherwise, the opportunities will come and pass us by. We must prepare, not just dream,” Ali said, adding that by 2030, Guyana should have a diversified economy, powered by modern infrastructure, technology, knowledge, and innovation, not just oil.
Oil is temporary. But sustainability is forever. You must use oil to build for the future, not deny the future to spend oil,” he said
